1. Field of Invention
The invention relates to photographic processing, and more specifically to a photofinishing operation that matches film and prints with appropriate packaging and graphics reproduced from the original order.
2. Description of the Prior Art
Photographic processing of exposed film into prints typically is accomplished in an automated production facility that simultaneously handles many customer orders batched together for efficiency. The film may be mailed to the facility directly from the photographer or, more likely, it is forwarded through a dealer. In both cases the film usually is contained in an envelope that includes instructions for processing the film, such as the number and size of prints, and a hand-written name and address of the photographer. When the envelope is provided by the dealer, it also may include a machine-readable bar code identifying the dealer, and from which the envelope format frequently will be known.
The original customer envelope is retained during processing to provide the customer name and address for returning the prints, again either directly or through the dealer. The envelope is matched with the film and prints at the end of the process by using the batch structure of the process itself.
Throughout the process, the respective parts or corresponding components of a customer order are tracked mechanically by batch sequence. The film is batched after removal from the envelope and spliced into a large roll that is maintained through development and printing. The paper is printed in large rolls in the same sequence, and the prints remain in that sequence until cut and matched with the film for packaging and return. The original customer envelopes also are batched and ordered physically to match the sequence of the spliced film rolls.
At the end of the process, all of the order components come together at a finishing station according to the batched sequences. The customer envelopes are retrieved and assembled with the film and prints to provide the customer name and the return mailing address.